Wool-washing machine



(No Model.) 3 Sheets-Sheet 1.

F. G. 8; A. O. SARGENT. WOOL WASHING MACHINE.

Patented June 6, 1893.

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Patented June 6, 1893.

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WOOL WASHING MACHINE. No. 498,889. Patented June 6, 1893'.

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UNITED STATES PATENT ()EFiCE.

FREDERICK G. SARGENT AND ALLAN C. SARGENT, OF GRANITEVILLE,MASSACHUSETTS.

WOOL-WASHING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 498,889, dated June 6,1893.

Application filed January 7, 1891. Serial No. 376,995- (No model.)

To aZZ whom it may concern.-

Be it known that we, FREDERICK G. SAR- GENT and ALLAN C. SARGENT, ofGraniteville, in the county of Middlesex and State of Massachusetts,have invented a new and useful Improvement in 'Wool-Washing Machines, ofwhich the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to machines for washing wool or other fibers, andit consists in certain new and useful constructions and combinations ofthe various parts of the same, substantially as hereinafter describedand claimed.

In the drawings: Figure l. is a top plan view of a wool washing machineconstructed according to our invention. Fig. 2, is a side elevation ofthe same, with one side removed to show the construction of the parts.Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the carrier end of the bowl shown in Fig.2, with a modification of the incline or chute which connects thecarrier bed with the squeeze rolls. Fig. 4 is an enlarged top plan viewof a portion of the bowl with the souser and false bottom and pipesremoved to show the cleaning-out apparatus. Fig. 5 is a side elevationof the discharge pipe of the cleaning-out apparatus, showing the valveconnections and arrangement of the same. Fig. 6 is a side elevation ofaportion of the fluid discharge grating on the side of the carrier bedlooking from its inside face. Fig. 7 isa vertical section through thesame showing the valve for opening and closing it, mounted on its rearside. Fig. 8. is a rear view of part of the carrier scraper.

A is the bowl of the machine mounted upon feet, which support it uponthe floor, and supporting the working mechanism. A feed apron, l,delivers the fiber to the bowl at its feed-in end, being driven by thepulley 2 on the end of its upper roll shaft. The wool is delivered underthe shaft or head of the rake 3, composed of the teeth 4,4, which aremade of yielding material, or to yield on the shaft. These teeth serveto hold the fiber against the draft of the feed-in cylinder, 5, which isprovided with curved teeth 6, 6, that pass around between the rake teeth4, 4, as the cylinder;

rotates. The cylinder 5 is revolved by pulley 7 on the end of its shaft.At the feed-in end of the bowl the reservoir, 9, is formed by a curvedpartition, 10, which reaches across the bowl and extends upward parallelto its curved end so as to form an outflow, c, which has a mouth-piece,11, above the outflow to direct the sheet of washing fluid against thewool which is held between the rake teeth 4 and the bowl, thus sousingor rinsing the wool before it has been carried beyond the rake teeth bythe cylinder and its teeth, 6, and this function of holding the wool inposition to be rinsed by the fluid projected from the mouth-piece c isthe valuable one of the rake teeth 4, 4.

A revolving ducker 8 is suspended on the wrist pin shaft, 12, so as toturn closely thereon, and be balanced with its lower surface horizontalto the fluid in the bowl, and has its lower surface 13 formedperforated, so that as it descends into the fluid the inrush of fluidinto the ducker through the perforated lower surface will hold the woolagainst it and press it downward into the fluid. The shaft 12 is mountedinthe outer ends of the cranks 14, 14, which are rotated by the shaft15, to which one of them is attached, the latter being driven by pulley16 on its outer end. The sides of the ducker are also perforated toallow the air to escape from it as it descends into the fluid, and toallow the fluid to escape from it as it rises. The upper side of theducker is formed of the board or plank, 17, to which the sides areattached at their upper edges, and two brackets attached to the uppersurface of this plank serve to suspend the ducker upon the rod 12, asshown. This arrangement of the ducker enables it to be operatedpositively and certainly Without undue strain or jar upon the workingparts of the machine.

The pulley 2 is intended to be belted to the pulley 18 on the shaft ofcylinder 5, and the pulley 7 is intended to be belted to the pulley 19on the shaft 15 of the ducker but the belts are omitted to illustrateother parts clearly. A toothed roller, 20, having teeth 21, 21, curvingbackward, also serves to again submerge the wool and carry it along inthe bowl. It is driven by the pulley, 22, on the outer end of its shaftand the pulley 23, also "con the same shaft is belted to pulley 16 ofthe ducker.

On the feed-in side of the toothed roller 20 is a shield, 24, extendingdownward beneath the fluid level in the bowl and thence upward towardthe toothed roller so that the wool passing under it will be caught bythe teeth of the roller as it rises under the upwardly inclined surfaceof the shield toward the roller. To force the fiber under this shield,the pipe 25 is made to extend across the bowl in advance of it, and hasthe spouts or nozzles 26 projecting forward and downward, so that whenfluid is forced into the pipe the streams ejected from the spouts willdrive the fiber under the shield 24, and the current thus created servesto draw the fiber forward from the ducker 8 to the shield. The teeth 21of the roller pass the fiber forward to the carrier, which is driven bythe shaft, 27, having attached to it the cranks 28, 28. These cranks areconnected together by ashaft, 29, forming a wrist pin, to which isattached one end of the pitman rods or bars, 30, the other end beingconnected to the rock shaft, 31, which passes through the upper ends ofthe rocking bars, 32, which rock on theshaft33 mounted in bearingsunderneath the bowl. The shaft 31 passes through links, 34, attached tothe upper end of the carrier, and these cause the carrier to be moved bythe pitmen bars 30, as the cranks 28 revolve. S is a scraper which ifdesired may be (as shown in Fig. 8) attached to the two rear lines ofcarrier teeth, serving to assist to clear off particles of wool from thewhole breadth of the carrier bed. Its serrated lower edge also clearsthe wool from the perforations of the carrier bed, where it is depositedby the suction of the pump. The carrier is provided with inclined wayson each side of the bed, to which the trucks 35, 35, are fitted so thatthe carrier in its upward movement shall travel on the trucks up theseWays. When the cranks 2 8 revolve in the upper part of theircircumferential path, however, the trucks or rollers, 36, which areattached to the middle part of the pitmen bars, 30, rise under thestraps 37, which are attached to the body of the carrier and lift itsrear end, on its backward movement, off its ways and drop it into thefluid on the wool, ready to carry it up the carrier bed during the otherpart of the revolution of cranks 28. The upper part of the carrier isprovided with a horizontal screen,38, shown as extending past four rowsof carrier teeth, which is made of wire netting, or other similarmaterial sufliciently dense to press the wool down upon this part of thecarrier bed, which is above the fluid level in the bowl, and squeeze thefluid out of it as it is carried upward. The construction of the openstraps 37 and of the open links, 34, allows the carrier to traverseupward on the trucks 35 parallel to the carrier bed, without interferingwith the rotary move ments of the cranks 28 and pitmen bars 30, whichimpart motion to the carrier.

The bowl is provided with a false bot= tom, 39, extending throughout itslength and formed of perforated material, so that the dirt washed out ofthe wool will drop through underneath it onto the bottom of the bowl.This false bottom 39 pitches downward from the feed-in end of the bowlin order to assist the carrying of the wool forward to the carrier bed.The carrier bed 40 meets this false bottom at its lower end and is alsoperforated to allow the washing fluid to pass through it.

Under the carrier bed and above the false bottom, a discharge outlet,41, is provided to which is connected the rotarypump, 42, driven by thepulley 43 on the outer end of its shaft. lhis pump discharges into thepipe 44, which extends along the side of the bowl and is connected tothe pipe 25 and also to the short pipe 45, which opens into thereservoir 9. The pipe44 also has the valve 46 attached to it, by whichthe fluid can be delivered from its outer end instead of beingcirculated back through the bowl by the other connections described. Italso has another valve, 47, between the pump and the pipe 25, by whichthe amount of fluid delivered through it to the latter and to thereservoir 9 may be regulated.

The delivering of the fiuid through the spouts 26 and the mouth-piece cof reservoir 9, and its being constantly taken up through the outlet 41by the pump, causes a constant current of the washing fluid to carry thefiber forward and lodge it upon the perforated carrier bed, 40, inposition for the carrier to take it up, but it has been foundthatsometimes the suction of the fluid passing through the perforatedcarrier bed held the fiber too firmly upon the latter to permit thecarrier to readily strip it OE and carry it forward to the squeezerolls. In order to regulate this suction of the fluid through thecarrier bed, we have provided side walls or partitions, 48, which arecarried inward from the sides of the bowl and above the fluid level inthe latter as shown, and are provided with bars, forming openingsthrough which the fluid maypass to reach the outlet, 41, and thusrelieve the suction through the perforated carrier bed. To regulate theamount of fluid passing through between the bars of the supplementalside walls 48, we have provided a valve,49, behind the sides, [Figs 6and 7] formed of bars fitted to slide across the openings between thebars of the side walls, and close the same in whole or part. This valvehas a piston handle, 50, whose rod slides in a sleeve at its upper endand has brackets at its lower end, and allow of its sliding movement. Bytaking hold of the valve handle, 50, and sliding the valve the openingsin the side walls 48 may be increased or diminished, so as to regulatethe suction through the carrier bed, as before described.

Underneath the false bottom, 39, the bowl of the machine is divided intotwo portions by the vertical partition, 52, and the bottom of the bowlin each portion inclines downward from each way to the semi-tubular dropIIO or cavity, which extends transversely across.

the bowl. This cavity 53 opens at one end through the side of the bowlinto a short horizontal tube, 54, the lower half of which forms ahorizontal extension of and coincides with the cavity 53. In the lattera screw 55 is fitted, mounted on the horizontal shaft 56 so as to extendinto the tube 54, in which one end of the shaft extends and is mountedaxially on aspider. The other end of the shaft 56 extends through theopposite side of the bowl and has the pulley, 57, attached to it. Thefit of the screw 55 is such that it revolves quite closely to the wallsof the cavity, 53,

and the extension thereof, tube 54. The.

outer end of the tube 54 is closed by the slide valve, 58, which slidesup and down in the box 59 and is attached to the piston rod, 60, passingthrough a stuffing box on the top of the box. A lever, 61, is attachedto the'piston rod,being mounted on the pivot 62 in arm 63. By means ofthis lever the valve 58 is opened or closed. Outside of the bowl A, avertical tube, 64, is connected to the tube 54 and extends above thelevel of the fluid in the bowl, being there provided with a side spout65. The operation of this part of the mechanism is as follows: The dirtfalling through the false bottom 39, as it descends to the bottom ofbowl A, slides down the latter into the cavity 53 around screw 55. Byapplying a belt to pulley 57 the screw is revolved in the rightdirection and carries the dirt along into tube 54 and forces it into thelatter and up tube 64, and out of spout 65. The space under the falsebottom 39 is thus cleaned out, without the necessity of removing thebottom to clean it, or of stopping the washing machine for that purpose,which is important.

In Figs. 1 and 2 the ordinary form of chute, 66, connects the carrierbed with the squeeze rolls, and we have provided it with a tube 67,

connected to a source of fluid supply and having along slot, 68, for amouthpiece, extending across the machine the whole width of the carrierbed, under the upper edge of the same, and opening toward the squeezerolls. This construction causes a sheet of washing fluid to be projectedover the surface of the chute, 66, and both aids to carry the woolforward to the squeeze rolls 69 and 70. On some kinds of wool, however,while it is advantageous to rinse them at this point, it is desirable toal low the rinsing fluid to escape before reaching the squeeze rollsasotherwise the excess of fluid at that point prevents the latter fromtaking a proper hold on the wool and carrying it through them, and thewool piles up on the chute and goes through irregularly. This is avoidedby allowing the wool to drain off before entering the nip of the squeezerolls. To effect this and carry the wool forward to the squeeze rolls,We adopt the modification shown in Fig. 3, in which a portion of thechute 66 nearest the squeeze rolls is cut away, and the rotary transferrolls 71 and 72, mounted in bearings in the partitions 48, are sub,-

stituted in place of it. These rolls revolvein the direction of thearrows as the fiber passes over them, and allow the fluid to drain oifbetween them and between the roll 71 and the adjacent end of chute 66,and their rotary motion thus prevents the downward suction of the fluiddraining 0% from retarding the progress of the bulk of the fiber to thesqueeze rolls. These rolls are also valuable to allow the draining offof some grades of wool when the rinsing pipe 67 is not used. As thefluid drains off between these rolls it is caught in the trough, 73,formed by the sides of the bowl, its upwardly curving bottom beneath thelower squeeze roll 70, and the transverse partition 74, which reachesacross the bowl from side to side, fitting the latter tightly on itsends and lower edge. This arrangement possesses the disadvantage ofallowing small portions of the fiber to pass down with the fluid whichdrains off between rolls 71, 72, which would speedily settle in thetrough 73 and fill it up, necessitating the stopping of the machine andthe removal of the chute 66 and rolls 71 and 72 in order to clean itout. The disadvantage of this is so great that the solid chute 66 hasbeen used more commonly than rolls like 71 and 72, because it does notlet the particles of fiber escape to this disadvantageous extent intotrough 73, although the advantageous drainage of the fiber is notaccomplished. To obviate this difficulty and at the same time obtain theadvantage of draining the sheet of fiber as it passes over rolls 71 and7 2, we connect the trough 73 with the body of the bowl near the pumpoutlet 41, by the pipe 75, [Fig 1] so that the suction of the pump shallserve to draw the fluid contents of trough 73 forcibly out of it,carrying the fibers of wool which have descended between rolls 71 and72, forcibly out of the trough and keeping .it constantly cleaned. Thesefibers so drawn out by the suction of the pump 42 are again deliveredinto the wool passing through the washing fluid in the bowl andincorporated with it, and all parts of the bowl are thus kept constantlycleaned of wool fiber, which usually settles and requires the machine tobe stopped to clean itout.

An overflow pipe, 76, extends up through the bottom of bowl A under thecarrier bed, 40, to the fluid level and keeps that constant in the bowl.

It will be observed that this machine does not require to be stopped toclean out either the dirt, or the wool fiber, which settlesin the bowl,and so effects a great saving in expense of operation.

What we claim as new and of our invention is 1. In a fiber-washingmachine, in combination with the feed-in cylinder 5 provided with teeth6, rake 3 provided with teeth 4 arranged to extend between the teeth 6of the cylinder, and the fluid delivery mouth, 0, whereby the fiber isrinsed while held between the bowl and the rake teeth, substantially asdescribed.

2. In a fiber-washingmachine, the combination of the shield 24 incliningdownward into the fluid on its feed-in side, and the pipe 25, and spouts26 arranged to project fluid downward under the shield and draw thefloating fiber forward beneath the same, substantially as described.

'3. 'I-na fiber-washing machine, the com'bination of the shield 24inclining downward 'bclow the fluid surface of the bowl and thenceupward on its feed-out side, and the rotary A :toothed cylinder, 20,provided with teeth 21 arranged to strike the floating fiber as it rises4 under the inclined "feed-outside of shield 24, and carry it downwardinto the fluid, substantially as described.

4. "In afiber-washingmachine-the combination of the bowl provided withways for the' carrier trucks, the carrier provided with said trucks35,35, at both ends thereof, mounted .upon the arms 32 by the open links'34, and provided with the open straps 37, and the cranks 28, andpitnlen bars 30, connected to i the carrier and provided with projectingparts, '36, extending under said open links, whereby the carrier isallowed to-travel upward on its trucks parallel to the carrier bed, 9and is-then lifted and carried back-ward on the arms 32 and pitrnenbars30, substantially as described. 5. The combination of the inflow c atthe {feed-in end of the bowl, the perforated car-- rierbed, the outflowopening 41 beneath the carrier bed,-one or more side openingsthrough the'wall48 connected with said outflow,and

the valve connected therewith arranged toopen and close thesame toregulate the flow of the washing fluid through the perforated .carrierbed, substantially as described.

' anda seriesof rollers arranged successively :lower toward the squeezerollers to have the flu id projected-fromsaid'delivery month over them,and to allow the fluid to drain away between them while transferring thefiber :from the carrier'bed to the squeeze rolls substantially asdescribed.

:7. The combination, in a fiber Washing machine, of the bowl A, theinclined carrier bed, the squeeze rolls 69 and ,70, the latter beingmounted in the bowl so as to extend belowthe fluid level of the same,the rolls 71 and 72 arranged successively lower toward the squeeze rollsconnecting the carrier bed with the squeeze rolls and to allow the fluidto drain away between them, the trough 73 placed below rolls 71 and 72in position to catch the fluid and fiber draining off from them, thepipe 75 connecting said trough with the bowl, and the pump 42 and itsoutflow 41, located in said bowl in position to create asuction of thefluid out of trough '73 through pipe 75 and remove the fibertherefrom,substantially as described.

8. The combination, in a fiberwashing machine, of thebowl A providedwith the perforated-false botto1n,39, and having itsbottom'inclinedfromeach way toward and'formed into the trough 53, thetube 54 connected to said troughand forlningan extension thereof outsideof the bowl of the machine, and the shaft 56 providedwithwings,55,arranged to screw shaft '56 arranged in said t-rough to forcethe dirt into-the t-ubes54 and64 and out of the bowl, substantially asdescribed.

10. The combination in afiberwashing machine, of the bowl A providedwiththe perforated false bottom, 39, and having its bottom inclined fromeach way toward and formed into the trough, 53, the tube 54 connected tosaid trough and forming an extension thereof outside of the bowl of themachine, and provided at its outer end with a valve, and-the-screw shaft56 arranged to revolve in said trough and to force the dirt out of itintothe tube, substantially asdescribed.

11. In a fiber washing machine, in combination with the carrier bed, 40,and the rising and falling carrier, the horizontal plate, 38,

attached to the carrier teeth at the upper end of the car-rier inposition to compress thefiber between the carrier and its bed as itcarries the fiber-up the latter, substantially as described.

12. Ina fiberwashing machine, the combination of the bowl A providedwith a fluid inlet on thefeed-in side of the perforated carrier bed, andwith a fluid outlet and pump beneath the carrier bed, the perforatedinclined carrier bed 40, and the reciprocating carrier having itsaftermost rows of teeth, which traverse the lower portion ofthe bed,provided with the serrated edge scraper, 8, arranged to clear the fiberoff of the perforations of the bed across its entire breadth,substantially as described.

FREDERICK G. SARGENT. ALLAN O. SARGENT. WVitnesses:

ARTHUR B. PLIMPTON, W. A. "HARRIS,

ICC

